One of the important things I've learned in my 18+ years of practicing law is that you can't be afraid of going off script, but going off script effectively requires you to actually listen to what is being said.
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#norestforthelitigator — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #norestforthelitigator, aggregated by home.social.
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My gut said, spine. So I went through all the medical records and I prepared a cross based on the opposite of what I would have tried to prove up if I was opposing counsel.
Turns out my gut was right. I continued to edit my outline during the direct, but I didn't need to edit much.
So what sets me apart from other trial attorneys? I over prepare and I over deliver.
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3. We parachuted into this case about a month before trial. But the results speak for themselves. Plaintiff asked for $116 million in closing. The jury awarded $3.7 million, but they found Plaintiff 49% liable. So once the verdict was reduced by comparative fault and to present value, the total amount was only about $1.3 million.
Have Uggs and Louboutins, will travel for trials! #norestforthelitigator
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The first trial I ever did I parachuted in weeks before to second chair it. After that trial ended I remember saying that’s what I wanted my career to be- trials- and preferably ones where I came in last minute.
This year I have parachuted into two trials last minute (one as first chair- another as second chair), joined a third trial with a little more notice (as second chair), and first chaired two arbitrations.
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Today my 5th trial/arbitration of 2025 starts in Flint, Michigan.
I’ve never had this many cases actually go to trial in a single year in my 18+ years of practicing. Will there be 6 for 2026?
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A little over a year ago I was brought on to a case involving an alleged sexual assault that occurred at a summer camp in 1984. As you might expect, there were no records for the summer camp, the alleged perpetrator was unidentified, and there was no one left alive who had worked there on the management team in the 1980s. The case had already been pending for over a year and prior counsel had yet to obtain the name of the John Doe plaintiff.
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Case 5: The Good Faith Settlement
Ms. Decker was added to this case, which had been pending for quite some time, involving the alleged sex trafficking of a minor. After following up on previously served discovery, conducting some additional discovery on key issues to limit potential liability and the exposure of her client, and developing a working relationship with Plaintiff’s Counsel, Ms. Decker was able to negotiate a settlement of $125,000.
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Case 4: The MSJ (Motion for Summary Judgment)
Ms. Decker jumped into this matter solely to write a motion for summary judgment for a Californian City, one of the defendants in the case. At issue was whether the City could be held liable for a pinecone that had fallen from a tree and caused cranial and, allegedly, brain injuries to a toddler.
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#norestforthelitigator #lawandmotionninja
https://mstdn.social/@alysondecker/115016551521789063 -
Yesterday I wrapped up my fourth arbitration/trial of 2025. (Except for the closing briefs which are due in September.) This 2.5 day arbitration focused on the break up of a joint venture, breach of contract, and various business related torts.
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Case 3: The Non-Appearance Settlement
Ms. Decker was retained in a matter just before a default was to be filed against the defendants. The claimed damages for breach of contract and various common counts was over $280,000 plus interest. Without appearing or even having to file an answer, Ms. Decker was able to negotiate a settlement for her clients of $40,500.
#norestforthelitigator #negotiation
https://mstdn.social/@alysondecker/114977301018100711 -
The result was a complete defense verdict and the case settled, for less than the last defense 998, right before openings of the Phase 2 Jury Trial (elder neglect, negligence, fraud, financial elder abuse, and wrongful death), which Ms. Decker was also on the trial team for.
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She did the opening, argued a very important discovery motion, handled the examination of several key witnesses, and organized and worked extensively on the post-trial closing briefs.
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Upon joining the trial team, Ms. Decker refocused the defense strategy into one cohesive story changing what had previously been testified to in depositions as consideration free transfers with “rent” payments into payments of over six figures for each business and lifelong payments to the seller.
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Case 2: The Bench Trial
Although this case had been pending for several years, Ms. Decker was added to the case in December of 2024 to first chair the multi-week Phase 1 Bench Trial (fraudulent transfer, alter ego, joint venture, and successor in interest) which started in early January of 2025.
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#norestforthelitigator #fraudulenttransfer #alterego
https://mstdn.social/@alysondecker/114937287544741321 -
If you’ve been waiting to hear how my Newton Defense in the pinecone case worked out, well results are in.
The defendant that I wrote this motion for summary judgment for is getting dismissed from the case. That’s right, instead of filing an opposition to the MSJ, opposing counsel dismissed our client.
The moral of the story: gravity always wins, even in legal briefs.
#lawandmotionninja #norestforthelitigator
https://mstdn.social/@alysondecker/114495698409937555 -
So, remember, when you have a “unique” litigation matter, call Alyson.
Other examples include a celebrity assault caught on camera during the filming of a TV show, a racial harassment and discrimination case involving what appeared to be an on the job made replica of a KKK hood hanging in the workplace, and a fraudulent transfer offshoot case from that ever so (in)famous iconic versus big headed doll case.
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Monday afternoon I got on a plane to head up to Sacramento for opening statements for Phase 2 of a trial I had parachuted into in December. Upon landing I learned the case had settled. As all of the trial team was flying up from So Cal and we couldn’t get back home that night we had a rare opportunity to celebrate with our clients. After six years of hard fought litigation their nightmare was finally over.
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Yesterday (yes Easter Sunday) was my 42nd birthday.
Today I head up to Sacramento with #TeamTempleCoffee (IYKYK) to start Phase 2 of a 6+ week trial.
We won a compete defense verdict in Phase 1 (which I first chaired) and I’m hoping for a repeat in a few weeks. (Yes, we have a team hat. Yes, it is a Temple Coffee Roasters hat.)
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Do you all remember that Sacramento #benchtrial I #firstchaired back in January? Well after submitting lengthy written closing and reply briefs in February and March we just learned that we won a COMPLETE DEFENSE JUDGMENT!!!
I am so thrilled for my clients, most of whom will no longer have to be part of Phase 2 of the case. And what a great win to have under our belts for the jury trial which starts in just over two weeks.
#norestforthelitigator #lawandmotionninja #trialattorney #firstchair
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You know you are getting on in years when you are no longer eligible for “Rising Stars”. But aging into being a full grown “Super Lawyer” isn’t a bad consolation prize.
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In other words, if you are looking for some tough litigation love, give me a call.
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I had a checklist of what a firm needed to put on the table (other than expected compensation) for me to walk away from my own law firm. Three of those big boxes were: (1) continue working on high end litigation matters; (2) actually do trials; (3) work with other talented attorneys. In six months, Taylor|Anderson checked all three of those things off my list.
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#norestforthelitigator #lawandmotionninja #trialattorney #firstchair
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But now it is back to reality. So I’m cranking some of my favorite holiday albums and wrapping up a draft of a motion for summary judgment/adjudication in a very interesting case and prepping for a bench trial that is set to start in January.
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Yes, not every case has to be contentious and many lawyers realize the value of putting money that would be spent on legal fees towards resolving the case instead.
So if you are looking for someone to handle your High-End Plaintiff matters and Bespoke Defense cases, drop me a line.
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People: Are you taking any time off for the holidays?
Me (and most Small Business Owners): Not really...Although owning my own small law firm gives me a lot of flexibility, I don’t get paid when I don’t work, and the holidays get pretty expensive pretty fast. Then you add in all the EoY renewal fees for things like my bar license, case management software, professional liability insurance, etc...
But I am enjoying a lot of seasonal music while working.